This pic was actually shot last week. Just now getting to posting it. And yes, I've already been told I look too serious. Gimme a break - I was hot and tired at the end of a long day.

Tender-27 (TE-27) filling the portable tank. The channel that the water is coming out of is electrically operated by switches at the back of the rig or in the cab. You can dump to the left (shown below), right, or center. The water flows out (using gravity feed) at about 1,000 gallons per minute.

If you have high-speed Internet, you can see a short (4MB) Quicktime video of the process by clicking here. The pounding you'll hear in the background is Team 2 using a rubber mallet to pound on the suction hose joints to tighten them. The video was shot late in the evening; about the fourth time we'd set up and filled the basin. "Repetition is the mother of skill," they say. More like the "mother of exhaustion," if you ask me.

The portable basin, TE-27, and Training Battalion 1 (Teams 1 and 2). In the lower left corner is a silver attachment that hooks onto the 5" suction and allows the tender to draft the water back into its tanks. The idea is that TE-27 dumps its water into the basin, then goes and finds a water source (hydrant, lake, pond, swimming pool), drafts its tank full again (about a seven minute operation) and returns to dump again. That leaves a water source (the basin) at the fire scene so that engines can draw off it to fight the fire.

The tank folds up and is stored in the back of TE-27 along with the suction hoses used to draft water. TE-27 is also capable of running lines to fight a fire if needed (usually in a wildlands setting), but it's primary role is as a water shuttle.

Crystal and Jeff make up the 5" suction before drafting.

TE-27 drafts from the tank via a 5" hard suction line (roughly 400 gallons per minute). The black lines that crisscross the tank are support lines that run from one side of the framework to the other to keep it from collapsing under the weight of 3,000 gallons of water.

On the lower right side you can see the drain for the tank; it's a circular opening in the liner that's tied up to the framework at the moment. To empty the tank, you simply untie the drain and let it drop. To fully empty it, firefighters surround the upper sides and lift the liner, pushing the water toward the drain. Eventually, someone actually crawls underneath the liner to help lift it, getting the last remnants of water out. I didn't get any pics of that process - I was too busy lifting liner.

Team 1 poses in front of the old engine (which now has a gas grill built into it!) after a night of training. Observant viewers will notice that yes, that's a sweaty 2001 Dragonflight t-shirt I'm wearing. I think there's a light-colored dry spot near my left hip. Have I mentioned how hot bunker gear is?

This is the team I'll work with during all eight weeks. We've got some good skillsets and diversity going. Logan and Crystal both have firefighting experience; Victor worked as a safety officer on oil rigs off the coast of Mexico; Crystal and I have EMS experience; Dave's a reserve cop. Everyone on the team seems pretty sharp and willing to jump in and get the job done. I like 'em.

From left to right: Logan, Victor, Brian, Dave, and Crystal.